Re: [ALERT] FW: New Scam ...

[Donald DiPaula <dipaula@access.digex.net>]

Poster: Donald DiPaula <dipaula@access.digex.net>

> I got this via internal company e-mail.  This came from Dayton, OH,
> but someone could try it where you are, so be alert folks!
 
sounds like an urban legen with a "you can't trust anybody" moral, but let's
take a look at it...

>  ----------
>  There is a big scam going on where a person calls and says that they are
>  doing a computer survey from a company.  The company name that they give is
>  usually a big well-known software company, and they usually say that they
>  are doing the survey because they want to give out free software.   They
>  want to know what would be a good time for someone to come from their
>  company and install the software on your PC.  They also ask questions about
>  income, etc.
 
hm.. no mention of which actual companies they have claimed to be...  and
i think most people would be suspicious of a company offering to send someone
out to physically install free software at your home.  come on; why wouldn't
they simply put it on their web site or send you a disc or cd in the mail?
that would be _much_ cheaper than paying someone to go from house to house.
you can tile your bathroom with free cd-roms, for chrissake.

>  During their questioning, they (unknowingly to you) find out what time
>  you're usually home, what kind of computer equipment you have and all
>  sorts of other valuable information.  At a company where a friend of
>  mine works, a co-worker of his received one of these calls, and he was
>  robbed the very next day (of course, when he was not home).

coincidence?  did it actually happen?  who was the co-worker?  can we
verify the details?

  I received a
>  similar call yesterday afternoon.   Fortunately, I knew about this ahead of
>  time, and we didn't provide them with any information.
 
details?  

>  I want to make you all aware of the situation and the potential danger
>  Involved in giving out any information like this over the phone.  The
>  people sound very genuine, and very few people are going to question
>  receiving free software.

i for one would certainly question anyone offering to come to my home for
any reason.  that's the part that makes no sense and would alarm anyone
that they actually tried this on.  therefore, i don't believe it's really
happening.

 I would advise you, however, to tell the
>  people that if they have your phone number, they should have your
>  address (we think they're getting it off the internet somehow),

beware of loss of privacy on the internet! "they" are out to get you!

 and
>  they can mail you any free software they might be offering.  If you have a
>  home computer set-up, you should be familiar with installing  your own
>  software.

yeah, you might.

 You may even want to tell them you don't have a  home computer.

or be honest: "do you have a computer?" "yes."  "is it a mac, or a pc?" "no."

>  Whatever you're comfortable with.  Please don't give out any information
>  that you may regret later.  Pass this information along to friends and
>  family members, as well.  The fewer people they are able to scam, the
> better.

good general advice, even if the scam they're supposedly warning against
never happened.  don't give out any compromising information to anyone you
don't know well, ever.  and try to verify such stories with names, dates,
contact information, etc., before spreading them.  urban legends are very
hard to stamp out.

-D-

By US Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer meet the
definition of a telephone fax machine.  By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to
send any unsolicited advertisement to such equipment, punishable by action to
recover actual monetary loss, or $500, whichever is greater, for each violation.

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